Polymer Clay Crafts for Kids

Copyright Notice - While many of the crafts on this site are free, they are still copyrighted. They are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, except for local church, school, or home use only. The copyright notice must be included on all copies. To request permission to copy this material for any other use contact me by e-mail.

Clay Star Ornament Craft

What you will need:  Gold Sculpey III clay, rolling pin, star cookie cutter, beads, and pretty buttons

What to do:
1. Roll out the clay very thin, about 1/4" thick.
2. Use a star cookie cutter to cut out the shapes.  I used a pen cap and hole punch to punch out holes in the stars (This technique would work really well with a snowflake cookie cutter also.)
3. Press beads and buttons into the clay to make patterns.  (I cut the backs off of my buttons with some wire cutters)  (You can find inexpensive buttons at used stores on old clothing.  Look for sales where you can fill a bag for a dollar and just fill the bag with clothes that have pretty buttons.)
4. I cooked the clay according to the directions on the package with the beads in the clay.  The buttons and bead did not melt. (Be very careful when doing this!  Keep an eye on your ornaments and only cook them in a well ventilated room.) If you don't want to take the chance of melting the bead or buttons you can take them out before cooking the stars and then glue them in when they are cooled.
5. Glue in any beads that don't want to stay in the ornament.

Clay Gift Tags and Christmas Ornament Craft - These are easy and fun to make.

What you will need:  Polymer Clay (Fimo, Sculpty, etc.), rolling pin, rubber stamp of your choice, black permanent ink ink pad, oil based colored pencils, waxed paper, and a hole punch.

What to do: 
1. Form your clay into a ball and press it down to fallen it. Use a rolling pin to roll it out to about a 1/4" thickness.
2. Stamp the clay with the rubber stamp, let the ink dry and then turn it over (if you are making an ornament) and stamp the other side.  Punch a hole at the top for hanging.
3. Bake the clay according to the directions for your clay, let cool, and then color it with colored pencils.

Polymer Clay Mini-Book Craft -  This craft is a little complicated. Children 10 and over will enjoy making these mini-books, younger children will enjoy writing and coloring in the pages. This book is only 2" x 2 1/2".

What you will need: Polymer Clay (Fimo), Plaid flexible molds, rolling pin or pasta machine, wide ribbon or material, glue, paper, paint (optional),  A, B, and C rubber stamp, black permanent ink pad.

What to do:
I found the directions for this book at the Polymer Clay House web site.  Instead of making my own molds I used some push molds that I bought at Michael's craft store. For more detailed directions go to the Polymer Clay House.

1. Roll out a piece of clay 1/8" thick and large enough to cut a rectangle 2" x 2 1/2". I first cut a piece of card stock this size for a pattern. Lay the pattern on top of the rolled out clay and use a knife to cut around the edges.   Make two rectangles the same size. These are the back and front covers for your book.
2. I used a push mold with a bee, flower, and a leaf on it. Before using the molds dust them with cornstarch or spray Armor All in the molds. To make the flower I used tiny pieces of clay, yellow for the middle, rolled it into a ball and then pushed it into the center of the mold.  I then used tiny balls of orange clay and pushed them into the mold around the yellow clay. Just push on the back to release the flower. I did the same thing for the bee and the leaves. Gently press the leaves, flowers and bees onto the clay rectangle.
3. I used rubber stamps to make the A, B, and C.
4. Bake the clay in the oven according to the directions on the clay.
5. When the clay has cooled use a piece of sand paper to even up the edges.
6. To connect the front and back covers cut a piece of 2 1/2" material or ribbon 4 1/4" long.  Set the two covers side by side about 1/4" apart with the wrong sides facing you. Put glue on the backs of the covers and press the ribbon onto the glue.  Let them dry.
7. To make the pages for the book cut a piece of paper 2 1/4" wide by 56" long. (This will make 13 pages or 26 pages back and front, one for each letter of the alphabet)  Fan fold the paper at 2" intervals. Glue one folded edge onto the back of the front cover. Using paper glue, glue the next fold together and continue until you come to the last fold. Glue the end piece to the back cover.  For a diagram see the Polymer Clay House.  If you don't have 56" long paper you can glue shorter lengths together.
8. To finish have write one letter of the alphabet on each page (or have your child do it)  Have your child draw a picture on each page representing each letter of the alphabet.

Push Molds - Here you will find some great push mold samples

Polymer Clay Projects at Judi Maddigan's Web site - Quick and Easy projects.

Tips for using clay at Judi Maddigan's web site.